PM: Politics Should be Eliminated in the Granting of Public Contracts

Wed, Nov 11th 2009, 12:00 AM

Mr. Ingraham was speaking at the Gun Point, Ragged Island site designated for a multi-million dollar docking facility, partially funded by a grant from the European Union, which will enhance the country?s national security via its service to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. The dock will also service BEC fuel tankers and mail boats to the island.

?We have not had good experience with publicly tendering jobs,? the Prime Minister said. ?We are seeking to get out of the business of politicians merely selecting who can bid on jobs. That is why this year, we caused to be advertised most of the school bussing contracts in the country and invited people to come forward and put in a bid.

?During the convention I caught a lot of hell from some of my delegates, who felt that they should have been given the jobs because the PLPs got the jobs while they were in office. And I told them we are seeking to change the way things are done in The Bahamas.?

Mr. Ingraham and a delegation of Cabinet Ministers traveled to Ragged Island following their visit to Acklins, where they viewed roadwork needs there. Contracts for infrastructural projects in Acklins and Ragged Island, partially funded by a $9.4 million grant from the European Union, are to be signed by the end of November.

He advised that though several Bahamian firms had bid for the Family Island projects, most failed to comply with the rules and requirements established.

?These contracts were tendered and have met European Union standards in terms of tenders,? he noted. ?They [the European Union] have been involved in the evaluation of the tenders and hence the selection of the contractors. One of our great regrets is, not enough Bahamian firms complied with the terms of bids.

?They were publicly advertised in the newspapers, contractors were invited to bid; the list of things they had to produce in order to qualify for the bid was all stated in writing. They were also invited to attend a meeting at which the matters were discussed and agreed upon as to what you had to do in order to qualify.
?Notwithstanding that, only one of the contractors who tendered on the work in Acklins, had his bid fully compliant with the terms, and so that was the only bid that was able to be considered due to European Union requirements and standards.?

Similarly, on tendered work for resurfacing at the Ragged Island airport, the contractor who appears to have the winning bid is not in full compliance, but the European Union has waived a specific requirement provided he produces it in a very short period of time, Mr. Ingraham advised.

The Prime Minister meantime noted that insufficient Bahamian firms come forward to bid on projects when put out to tender. He stressed meantime the importance of these firms understanding the need for compliance in the tendering process.

?We [must] continue to drill in peoples? head that in order to bid you ought to qualify, in order to qualify, you ought to do ?A,B,C.? If you cannot do those things, then your bid should not be accepted. That includes [having] a bond to ensure the job gets done; if you fall down on the job, that there is an insurance company or a bank that is going to guarantee the performance of the job.

?That you are going to have an adequate number of people with skills and training to be able to carry the job out,? he continued. ?We are not giving these projects out to people just because they happen to be supporters or because they happen to be Bahamian, we are seeking to save the public money.

?We have wasted too much money in this country over the years giving contracts out to persons who messed up on the job.?

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